User blog:FateAlbane/Jack of All Tropes - Big Iron 6
This will cover all tropes found in the 6th session of Big Iron. Painting the pain in the frames of our hearts, as tears dripping out of our face become art... Watching the world fly by. (EDIT: Mostly done.) Session 6 - Fail cometh. Out of Focus - A deliberate case of this for Elly during several scenes. Justified in-verse, given what her personality has gone through by now. Hob was also out of focus due to meta stuff. Retcon - Billy who? You mean the cat? Huh? John Davis? Never heard of them. "What Now?" Ending - Both session 5 and this one. In fact, it was lampshaded by players in meta with something around the lines of: "If this was a video-game, this is around the time I'd take a guide/walkthrough to see wt-for-q the story even wants me to do for the plot to progress". Creator Breakdown - Another one for DMUA during both of these sessions (5 and 6), with the first one having been on 3 as you may remember. It would seem that a case of Soul Pains is afflicitng the others here by proxy. I'm adding it only here, though, since this session was overall much shorter in number of events and the blog for session 5 was turning immense as it is. Walking Disaster Area - From a Chungus to Rogue Spirits, wherever the party goes chances are that events will soon take a less than pleasant turn for those involved, even if they fight back with everything they have. The team's efforts in session 5 also caused damage to the town this time around. With Jill and her Mook Troops perpetually on the team's tail, this is a justified trope, though. No, not that other one. As Ino puts it best: We used to be Friends - Compared to before, Elly stays distant and displays next to no care at all for how the party is feeling at present, not taking part in any discussion that is related to emotions and such as opposed to progress of the journey (unless she specifically feels there is more advantage to having everyone in a better state, but still. She counts on other party members being a better fit for the job). All the same, she doesn't voice her own inner thoughts anymore. The Heart - With Ahuatzi's death, Ino is now the one who took this spot. Which is an interesting twist in the trope as he's also the party member who can't/or never speaks. He's also either the youngest or close in age to the youngest (with Amethyst joining the team). Yet he's the one who maintains his cool, has human (yet non-destructive) reactions when the situation grows grim and tends to cause heartwarming moments (either by intention or by proxy when helping out others). He usually tries his best to keep himself together and hardly ever does anything that separates the party further. Hopefully he doesn't become Jill's next main target or anything. Laser-Guided Amnesia - Almost a *literally* laser-guided amnesia, since tearing out a part of his soul and firing it off as energy is what caused some pieces of it to be missing and blurry/the state he finds himself in now. Suddenly SHOUTING! - The trope itself is played for drama, but Marty's in-verse reaction is mostly of surprise and fear. As one will find easier to see from his own speech... Sacrificial Lion - As one might expect from the tropes in the previous session, Ahuatzi's death certainly had *quite* the impact on pretty much every character that is still around... Dwindling Party - Scarlet went down in session 3, Dufresne in session 4, then Ahuatzi in session 5. Also Bill---Huh. Who? The cat? He's still alive! Dangerous Forbidden Technique - Though the power gained from it can be truly devastating and well beyond one's own abilities, using a chunk of one's soul/memories as a source of power takes quite the toll on the user and Marty has been paying that price + interest right now. Death is a Sad Thing - For Amethyst, who lost both of her parents as part of her backstory (see Orphan's Ordeal in session 5) and thus qualifies perfectly for this trope. As a sidenote, she also feels sad and hurt for Ahuatzi's death and the loss of life around her in general. Identity Amnesia - Marty gets some of this too for a short while, after the initial shock from using the dangerous forbidden technique. Character Development/Face your Fears - Remember how Hope used to be the character most prone to the Freak Out trope so far? Well, not this time around. She actively confronts that, goes towards Ino - who helps her through it as an "emotional anchor" of sorts - and ultimately not only manages to calm herself down but also tries to calm Ino *and* Marty down. Well done! Consolation Backfire - Aforementioned development notwithstanding, by the time Hope does get to Marty he has mostly settled down from his freak out on his own. A downplayed trope, though: He doesn't lash out nearly as badly as usual, but her and Ino's attempt ultimately only get Marty leaving for the wagon - not that long after the following exchange: Deep breath reveals Tension - Pretty much everyone present at the time goes through some of this in the aftermath of session 5... Except Elly, for obvious reasons that shouldn't be that hard to tell by now. Now that I think about it, sure am glad I made her hair black in its color. Mangst - Hints of this trope were there for Marty all along (seriously, read this trope page and you'll see Marty did almost every single thing listed there at some point in this story)... But by now, with the events in session 5 and his memories affected, it sure came crashing down on him full force. Facial Dialogue - Ino has been surely doing his best, all while displaying his skills on this trope, these days. Twitchy Eye - A bit late since this came up in past sessions but went mostly unnoticed - Elly and Magnum are both seen doing this every now and then when under a stressful situation, making a snide remark or just generally annoyed at something. Sort of funny since by now they're the party's closest equivalent of a Red Oni, Blue Oni dynamic. Do I even need to say which is which? Body Language - Ino's main method of communication, naturally. Marty lampshades that he could just use mana based messages to put his intent into words, but Ino seemingly turns down the offer and keeps his usual behaviour. Tagalong Kid - With Amethyst joining the team and being more or less his age, Ino is no longer the only one qualifying for this trope... Though in fairness and when you think about it, Amethyst also fits several traits of a different trope altogether. Sixth Ranger - Making her first appearance in session 5, Amethyst joined much later compared to the original team. Sort of a literal case, too. Right now the team of player characters is: Ino, Magnum, Hob, Hope, Eleonore and Amethyst. Heroic BSOD - Marty gets a bad enough case of this to, eventually, just stay there in a corner of the wagon. Unable to do anything, think straight or even get the party back on the road. To quote the narrative itself... Heartwarming Moments - Pretty much anything involving Ino during the first scenes of the session. First he helps Hope get through her freak out, is also calmed down by her presence. After that, he does an adorable effort to try and cheer Marty up some or at least tell him he knows how he feels (though this one backfires). Later, he gets a Sleep Cute situation and (despite everything) Hope manages to sleep peacefully as well. Then there's him and Hope sort of welcoming Amethyst to the group and the situation with Magnum below. Hopefully nothing happens to him or that necklace of his, he's too good to deserve anything like that. Greater need than Mine - Elly invokes this trope (which is sort of a meagninful echo to Ahuatzi's own actions in session 4) when she tells the others to rest while she pulls the wagon, reasoning that out of the party, she had been the one who got the most rest the other day (and didn't take part in the latest battle either). Dull Eyes of Unhappiness - Elly. Oddly enough, it's played straight and for laughs at the same time as it comes coupled with a Shout-Out to Trigun. Her eyes are "dull and destitute of light" to the point where she would make someone think of Legato. Visible Sigh - You'll be seeing something akin to this kind of reaction very frequently from the party. Guess the usuals reasons why. Tame her Anger - Downplayed trope, but shades of it are definitely there. Magnum's temper this time around gets less explosive and more focused. There are exceptions to the rule but she is seen hating internally now as opposed to in bursts of anger, for most of the session. There are also tones of sadness as opposed to just hating. Sleep Squashing - The hugging variation of this is what Magnum ends up doing to Ino (who just so happened to be the closest thing to her). At first he tries to do something to wake her up, but ultimately decides to leave her be when she calls for Scarlet's name in her sleep. At this point, Ino simply brushes her hair kindly. Cynicism Catalyst - Before, Elly would usually stay close to the party. After going through one too many of these and living through session 5? She just jumps out of the wagon whenever or separates and walks on her own without a care in the world since past events proved that running around is about as useful for them escaping Jill and her mooks as standing still or turning back would be. She and Magnum even sleep without caring or giving any passing thought to the situation, since the whole party awake proved about as effective against Jill as a bunch of flies even at their best so it's a given that there's no difference at present. Comforting Comforter - Elly has this as a (now rare) Sugar-and-Ice Personality moment. At first she just passes by Amethyst sleeping on the floor without a pillow and stays outside whistling as if she doesn't care about her situation either. When she does get back to the wagon, she stops by and gives the little girl not only a pillow but also a blanket. The narrative does leave it ambiguous if some of her liking for children survived or if she just thinks there's more advantage if Amethyst is well rested... Meta later confirms it was the former. Talking in your Sleep - Magnum, definitely. She mostly calls for Scarlet in her dreams. It ends up being a source for another heartwarming moment with Ino, and at times played for laughs but really adds to how much she misses her best friend when you think about it... Waking Non Sequitur - Once she does wake up, Magnum goes through this as she mistakes Ino for Scarlet for a few moments , before fully realizing that she had been dreaming all along. Ino is mostly embarrassed about it. Mundane Utility - This time, Magnum's ability to manipulate fire is used to set the camp for Ino instead of, you know, unleashing laser death. Sleep Deprivation - Ino stays awake for the whole night, still working on his memento by the campfire while most of the party sleeps. Elly even lampshades that "Wow, someone did keep watch. Talk about dedication." Determined Defeatist - While on the topic of this trope, in true Sour Supporter fashion Elly *does* keep trying one or another plan that definitely involve dedication and the party as a whole, in spite of her otherwise cynical / distant / cold / snarky remarks. Hell, to one or another extent you might say that *the whole damn party* is this given how they are somehow still going despite how hard the world seems set on effing their lives all over and making them fail non-stop. You have to admit it actually takes herculean levels of determination for them to even be functioning at all by this point. Never be Hurt again - Elly summarizes this trope and attitude as the natural conclusion to what her life as a whole has been. It's all my fault - Marty goes through this as he contemplates how he caused Ahuatzi's death (though in fairness, while his shoving the party away led everyone into that situation, the whole shooting part was more by accident/force of circumstance than anything so the line here is blurred). He later evokes the same trope in regards to Elly's final state of mind. In the former case, he also averts a certain trope entirely by generally not caring about the cuts he gets while shaving. Despite revenge being her main motivation, Elly does not direct that here [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VengeanceFeelsEmpty as she felt it would not change anything - causing literally nothing but pointless delay in this particular case.] Younger than they Look - Downplayed, but still there. Marty kept his moustache and actually did manage to give an "older" impression to some players/party members at first, but he's more or less their age and it gets lampshaded this time around when he shaves and looks truly like nothing more than a young man. Tears of Remorse - In light of everything thus far, Marty finally gets some of these (or was it almost? Hard to say. The intent was definitely there) at the end of his conversation with the group and post Elly's overview on her (and by extension, their) situation. See Hope Spot. Doubles as a sort of Perspective Reversal: Last time they were near the summit of a mountain was way back in session 2, when a (then far less distant - though rather confrontational) Elly was the one left broken and crying. This time around she was the one moving on, uncaring. All your powers combined - The "transferring all their powers into a single member" variation is what the party had planned in order to help Marty recover. Gathering together, everyone infused him with every last ounce of their mana intended for healing - in the hopes that such an influx of magical power could "try and heal, and if that was not possible, to provide his soul with enough energy to close that wound, to regrow the damage and missing parts". There is some hype among the party as they keep their hopes up... Then as you might have come to expect by now, it fails horribly like everything they do in this story, everyone wastes their time finding Marty all the way up a mountain just to get confirmation that once again their combined efforts amount to a flat zero and their powers combined at this point are the same as the total sum of adding 0 to 0. You can add zero to zero 10 times over and it won't be any more than what you started with, aka nothing. The end. Power Glows - For all of the aforementioned failure of a measure, they at least manage to make Marty radiate with the power for a while. Then he pulls some other trope as he takes a while to talk about/explain the reasons why stuff didn't work as expected which just ends up being another addition to the ever-growing failure streak of the party. Best Served Cold - The main reason why Elly doesn't seriously consider jumping from the mountain's summit is her uniyelding desire to make Jill pay. Though at present she's well aware any solid chances are pretty much non-existent,this idea of paying them back in the exact same coin is exactly what resulted in the Ashes to Ashes ability being made. Hope Spot - Heavily lampshaded by Elly (on top of all the other failure tropes adressed to the party so far) in a single, simple speech after the party experiences yet another addition to their complete failure streak - despite doing everything in their power together - all over again. Shoot the Shaggy Dog - Discussed Trope. As one can infer from the above speech and the tropes in previous blogs (especially session 5), this is what the party's journey so far has been for them in essence. And Elly definitely doesn't need an int check to be Genre Savvy about it. This Loser is You - If you guessed the party, that is correct. Hopefully they last long enough to get what I call "the Sawada Tsunayoshi season 2 transition" (since he also used to be this) and don't just die as this trope. Hopffffffffffffffff-Hahahah who am I kidding? The day the Music lied - And how. The party gets Pilgrim's Progress playing for them while they plan on gathering everyone to try and help solve Marty's situation, then Transition of the Soul as they join forces and do it... Only to fail completely and achieve literally nothing despite their best efforts. As always. Category:Blog posts